Phu Quoc

Reading the map: where to stay

Phu Quoc is one large island plus 21 smaller islets. The main island runs long from north to south, so where you stay changes how your days go. • West: Duong Dong (Dương Đông). A town of hotels and restaurants. The night market is here too, and in the evening the sun sets over the sea. • South: An Thoi (An Thới). Home to the scattered islets of the An Thoi archipelago and the Hon Thom cable car station. • North: the quiet side, where national park forest runs into empty beaches. Older guides list it as an island of Kien Giang (Kiên Giang) province, but addresses today read "Phu Quoc Special Zone, An Giang Province." Only the administrative lines changed; it's the same island.

Fish sauce and pepper: the island's scent

Walk into a fish sauce house and you'll find big wooden barrels lined up in the half-light. Anchovies brought in by fishermen are packed into them with salt and left to age for a long time, then clear, amber fish sauce is drawn off through a tap at the bottom. The smell stings at first, but after a taste you realize it's the base of the island's cooking. Even Vietnam's tourism board suggests stopping by a traditional wooden-barrel house or a pepper garden to taste and compare for yourself. At the pepper farms, vines climb up posts, hung with bunches of green berries. Dry those berries in the sun and they become black pepper. Some say Vietnam's best pepper and fish sauce come from Phu Quoc, and plenty of people pack both before leaving the island.

The sea: Sao in the morning, the west at dusk

Sao Beach (Bãi Sao), with sand as fine as powder and calm turquoise water, is the island's best-loved beach. The water is gentle enough that you can float for a long while without effort. As sunset nears, move to the west coast. The tourism board picks Ba Keo Beach (Bà Kèo) as the place to watch it, and at Ong Lang Beach (Bãi Ông Lang), north of Duong Dong, the sun sinks slowly beyond a quiet stretch of sand. If you're curious about what's under the water, hire a boat or join a tour to the An Thoi archipelago in the south. You can snorkel and dive around the small islets and coral reefs.

Hon Thom cable car: 8 km over the sea

The Hon Thom (Hòn Thơm) cable car leaves from the Sunset Town station in An Thoi, in the island's south. In 2018 it entered Guinness World Records as the world's longest three-wire cable car crossing the sea. Over about 8 km, fishing villages and small islets spread out below you one after another. At the end of the line, Hon Thom is a small island in the An Thoi archipelago, and its name means Pineapple Island. It has the Aquatopia water park, Vietnam's first wooden roller coaster, and the jungle-themed Exotica Village, plus sea activities like snorkeling, kayaking, and parasailing. When the sun goes down, head back to Sunset Town and look out over the water by Kiss Bridge. A show weaves live performance together with projections on the water, lighting, music, and fireworks. Show names and schedules change from season to season.

The night market and the island's table

In the evening, the stalls of Phu Quoc Night Market (Chợ đêm Phú Quốc) near Duong Dong light up. Grilled seafood, tropical fruit, and snacks stretch down the rows, and if you pick a fish, some shrimp, or a crab off the ice, they'll grill it for you on the spot. Two dishes come first here. One is gỏi cá trích: raw herring cured in lime and wrapped in rice paper with vegetables. The other is steamed flower crab (ghẹ). You dip the crab in salt with freshly ground island pepper and a squeeze of lime, and the pepper reaches you before anything else. Also try sea urchin split in half and grilled with scallion oil, and bún quậy, a rice noodle soup where minced shrimp is stirred into the broth to cook.

The northern forest: trees instead of sea air

Much of the island's north is covered by the forest of Phu Quoc National Park (Vườn quốc gia Phú Quốc). Trails lead past streams, viewpoints, and empty beaches, which makes it good for a half-day trek or a loop by motorbike. Head up just a little from the beach resorts and the sea breeze gives way to the damp smell of trees. Parts of the island also fall within the Kien Giang Biosphere Reserve, listed by UNESCO in 2006.

A 4-night, 5-day itinerary

Day 1 — Arrive at Phu Quoc International Airport → check in around Duong Dong → seafood dinner at the night market Day 2 — Early morning at Sao Beach → fish sauce house and pepper farm in the afternoon → sunset at Ba Keo Beach Day 3 — Morning boat trip to snorkel the An Thoi archipelago → Hon Thom cable car in the afternoon → evening show at Sunset Town Day 4 — Half a day on the national park trails in the north → sunset at Ong Lang Beach Day 5 — Shop for pepper and fish sauce → airport

What to eat

• Gỏi cá trích (raw herring salad)
• Steamed flower crab (salt, pepper and lime dip)
• Grilled sea urchin (topped with scallion oil)
• Bún quậy (minced-shrimp noodle soup)

Handy tips

• According to the tourism board, a free shuttle bus runs from hotels around Duong Dong to the Hon Thom cable car station. Ask your hotel whether it's running now and when it comes.
• Sao Beach is a favorite with locals too, so go early on a weekday if you want a quiet swim.
• In the May–October rainy season, the sea gets rougher and short, heavy showers come through. Leave a day of slack when you plan boat trips or snorkeling.